Note/Disclaimer: these are in no way intended as professional instructions. Any information you use, implied or explicit you use at your own risk! That being said, I as a student learned to do quite a bit of work on my car, and it saved me thousands of dollars. I also have an incredibly cool family (and friends) who often shares in such adventures, and I have learned much of my handy traits from them. It is great fun! Tuning can preserve one's car (whatever the condition) for a long time with very little cost in comparison to what it costs to have it done. It also gives one more of a sense of one's vehicle. One can hear when it sounds out of tune. Of course, one can go to an expert if there is something potentially dangerous or that you do not have the tools or skills for. I tend to discuss it with the service department of the dealer and some reputable repair shops. They are often a good source of wisdom. PB Foreign in Mission Beach has done good work over the years.
The Honda CRX is a fun little car. Mine is a 91 SI which my sister (and brother in law) practically gave to me as an act of great kindness. It is quite dependable, spunky, and simple to maintain. The repair manuals, parts and web info are everywhere (I'll get some links up at some point). You can also modify this car to the point of being a practically new car, custom to your design. Mine gets on average between 35 and 45 MPG, so it's also inexpensive. I refill my tank once every week or two (though you get more fuel efficiency with a mostly full tank, since you avoid evaporation) and it is only around 6 Gallons down! One other thing to note is that the car can carry a freakishly large amount of stuff into the trunk - I helped several friends move over the years, with only a few trips! I seriously am often taken aback at the sheer size and quantity that it can carry. There's something warm and friendly about the car that invites a good driving experience. I enjoy it and enjoy working on it, and hopefully the info on this page will be interesting to others as well.
Important notes about working on cars in general:
Check all torque requirements from the shop manual or the chiltons manual - you'll be surprised how little torque you should use sometimes (and how often people ignore these requirements)!!! I removed a bolt when changing the alternator a while back on an accord and found it was in with over 120 ft-lbs of torque and should only have been in with 12! I had to replace the part entirely.
Wear nitrile gloves at all times working in the shop - grease and oil are not healthy in the longrun and absorb through your skin so try to minimize how much you get in or on your body
I suggest the orange peel-based hand cleaner to clean yourself up after car work. It is non-toxic, inexpensive, and works really well!!!
do NOT overtighten the drain bolt - it goes into thin sheet metal and it is extremely easy to strip the threads of the hole. Replace the nylon washer periodically to ensure no leakage, and clean it when you do an oil change with WD-40 and a blue shop towel
it's most convenient to get at the oil filter from under the car. I usually raise the car from the center front lift point, then use jack stands under each side mount point, and then go in from the front (ie my feet extend from the front of the car, so my head points towards the back)
if you have trouble with the oil filter in terms of torque use an oil filter wrench, but the all metal ones need some additional friction, so I use an old not too dirty rubber/nitrile glove wrapped around the metal band - works like a charm!
spark plug replacement - NGK, do not get the BOSCH platinum plugs or others, as it seems they run the engine at too high a temperature.
air filter replace
Simply remove the four screws holding down the air filter cover. Gently lift it up and out of the way (straight up then rotate). If the screws are rusty some WD-40 is always helpful ahead of time. Take out the old air filter and put the new one in. If there is dirt in the inside of the tube wipe it away with a damp lint-free cloth or towel, be sure not to get any particles in there. I like the blue shop towels from CSK Auto or similar. At this moment it isn't a bad idea to take off the main inlet tube that mounts over the radiator and thoroughly clean it, then replace after using some plastic protectant on the outside (I don't use anything on the inside which could work its way into the engine - better to just clean it with water and a scrub brush lightly. You can also use car washing soap as long as it is properly rinsed out and left to air dry for a while as you do your tune-up.
I was driving and ran through a very rough section of road, when suddenly my car's exhaust increased volume by quite a few decibels. After inspection, it seemed that the muffler input pipe had disconnected from the muffler at the flange joint between muffler and muffler pipe. It was very rusted, and so was the top of the muffler, so I decided to replace with OEM. I've found that with the rising gas prices, keeping the car running smoothly is key to efficiency. For now I passed up going with a free-flow exhaust performance system. Replacing a muffler is as easy as unbolting two bolts and carefully sliding the two rubber isolation mounts supporting the muffler off. I recommend and honda does as well using a lubricant such as honda lube or simply grease or oil (grease is better of course, but oil is better than nothing in a pinch).
The reinstallation is a matter of carefully sliding the muffler input pipe over the suspension arm and attaching the two rubber supports. Next and finally the muffler input pipe flange bolts need to be screwed in carefully. Now there's a challenge here. The bolts have springs which need to be compressed in order to be tightened. I found that the position under the car is somewhat awkward so the solution to get enough mechanical advantage is to use a long necked screwdriver with a blunt end (such as one with a hex head) that extends behind the lower suspension arm to provide the compression force on the back of the bolt, then use a ratcheting open-ended wrench to tighten the screw. This worked quite well for me. Do not overtighten the bolts, but snug them down until they bottom and give moderate torque to seat them.
race modifications
- nothing yet here, see some of the many other sites for info
gallery
references
Chilton's Honda workshop repair manual - get at a Kragen, a similar store, or online. I've found that no one source of info will have everything, so use many. Each one will give you info about different things, or in different ways
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